​﻿WELCOME TO THE WALTON ASTRONOMY GROUP

Corona Virus Update:Please note that until further notice, all meetings in the pub will be cancelled, for obvious reasons.

Depending on the forecast, some observing sessions may be organised on the Green to keep us sane including some solar sessions over the summer. With sensible precautions these should be safe ie keep a safe distance and use your own scope. Announcements to be made on Facebook and the WhatsApp group.

​Stay safe out there!

​In the meantime, if you have any questions about WAG, do drop me an email at wag_chair@aol.co.uk

Stargazing at Painshill - CANCELLEDUnfortunately this event has been cancelled too, to be re-arranged in October provided all is well by then.I'm delighted to say that Painshill Park have agree to put on another stargazing event on 26th March, with WAG providing the scopes and observers. This will obviously be weather dependent, and will be cancelled if we expect it to be cloudy, but fingers crossed it will go ahead. If you are a member, I will already have your name down to assist. If you are not a member of WAG and are interested in booking tickets to attend, then please visit the Painshill website here. It will be limited to around 40 attendees so book soon!

Ahead of this event, I have put up some pictures (here) taken at the previous one we ran back in 2016 to give you a flavour of it. The setting is beautiful, a really lovely place to observe.

​Next dark sky trip:For the forseeable future we will keep to local observing sessionsVisit the Dark Sky Trip page for more information; we put these dates in the diary as targets to get away somewhere dark, and then make a decision on the day as to whether to go or not, dependent on the forecast of course!!

Click here to read advice about what scope to buy this Christmas for a range of budgets(Christmas has been and gone, but the advice remains the same so I will leave this up)

Who we are

WAG members range from absolute beginners to established astronomers with many years experience in Astronomy and Astrophotography. We are a diverse, informal and friendly bunch, who enjoy welcoming new starters to the hobby; we can help you with any problems you may have setting up your new scope for instance. Our emphasis is very much on getting out there and observing or imaging whenever we can, and enjoying ourselves in the process. Despite the informal nature of the meetings, WAG is a fully affiliated member of the Federation of Astronomical Societies.

Regular meet-ups take place at the Prince of Wales pub in West End Village, Esher generally on a Thursday, aiming for New Moon but watch this page for the confirmed date as we do change based upon other commitments or events.

The Green in West End Village, Esher has skies measuring around 19.2*, which means that stars down to around magnitude 5 are visible with the naked eye. Whilst not a dark sky, it is still possible to enjoy some worthwhile astronomy from the site, with the benefit of being still accessible from London.

Ad hoc observing is arranged subject to weather conditions.​Look out for our next meeting in the Observing and Eventssection or join us on Facebook to get updates from us.

Where to find us​

*Magnitudes per square arc-second

Transit of Mercury!11th November 2019Success! Read the observing report hereStarting at around 12.36pm and still in progress when the sun sets (it actually ends at around 6.03pm)This is a relatively rare event, happening only around 13 or 14 times per century although much more frequently than transits of Venus. The previous transit was in 2016 but the next chance after this is not until 2032.During the transit, Mercury passes between the Sun and the Earth, appearing as a jet black dot against the solar surface. The images below were taken using a smartphone during the transit in 2016.Please do NOT try to observe this unless you have the correct equipment to protect your eyes; looking directly at the sun, especially with binoculars or a telescope which is not correctly protected can cause instant blindness.With correct knowledge and equipment however, it can be perfectly safe, so if you would like advice about how to view this event, please contact WAG at wag_chair@aol.co.uk

West End Village Newsletter

The following articleappears in the Autumn Edition of the West End Village Newsletter, with grateful thanks from WAG!Note that we are eagerly awaiting the next edition which has an article covering our Mercury Transit meetup